Patricia Polacco is an American author born in Lansing, Michigan in 1944. She comes from a family of storytellers, Russian and Ukrainian immigrants from one side and Irish from the other.
Patricia first five years were spent on her grandparents’ farm in Union City Michigan, with her mother and grandparents. When Patricia was 3, her parents divorced and moved to live with their parents. Patricia lived with her mother during the year, but spent the summers with her dad. In both houses, Patricia was influenced by her grandparents and had a good relationship with them.
When Patricia was 5, her grandmother, Babushka, passed away. The family moved to Oakland, California. That is where Patricia spent most of her life with her mom and brother. Patricia also met her best friend Stewart (and they are friends up until now) in California. Stewart's family became her extended family.
Patricia had a terrible time at school. She had difficulties with reading and math. She was not able to read until she was about 14. She felt that she was dumb. She was also teased by others and that made her feel even worse. It was about that age when Patricia found out that she had a learning disability called dyslexia. It was her teacher who recognize that learning disability and got her the help she needed to succeed at school. Once Patricia learned to read, she caught up and was able to attend university. She went on with her studies and is now a PHD holder in Art History.
Patricia did not start as an author/illustrator. Initially, she worked restoring art in a museum until she became a mother to 2 children. She then became a full time mom and concentrated on their education. When Patricia was 41 years old, she started putting down the stories she told and heard into books and illustrated them. She was always good at art (and it was used as a substitute to reading).
Author Study Ideas
WebQuest (Teacher creates questions about Patricia that the Students would find answers to, use of technology to create a presentation)
Write a biography
Write a letter as a class to PP (1st or 2nd)
Learn more about Dyslexia: Research Learning Disabilities
Steps to getting published (writing and illustrating)
Influences on PP in her books: Family, school, heritage (including Stewart’s family). Read books before reading about author (different groups reading different books to share and talk about influence or read about the author first and find the influences in her book in small groups
Books that inspired Patricia Polacco
Patricia's Home (what it means to live on a farm adapt for 1st grade)
Art… How to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs (Rechenka’s Egg)
Presentation about Patricia (can be sent to be published on her website)
Patricia Polacco is an American author born in Lansing, Michigan in 1944. She comes from a family of storytellers, Russian and Ukrainian immigrants from one side and Irish from the other.
Patricia first five years were spent on her grandparents’ farm in Union City Michigan, with her mother and grandparents. When Patricia was 3, her parents divorced and moved to live with their parents. Patricia lived with her mother during the year, but spent the summers with her dad. In both houses, Patricia was influenced by her grandparents and had a good relationship with them.
When Patricia was 5, her grandmother, Babushka, passed away. The family moved to Oakland, California. That is where Patricia spent most of her life with her mom and brother. Patricia also met her best friend Stewart (and they are friends up until now) in California. Stewart's family became her extended family.
Patricia had a terrible time at school. She had difficulties with reading and math. She was not able to read until she was about 14. She felt that she was dumb. She was also teased by others and that made her feel even worse. It was about that age when Patricia found out that she had a learning disability called dyslexia. It was her teacher who recognize that learning disability and got her the help she needed to succeed at school. Once Patricia learned to read, she caught up and was able to attend university. She went on with her studies and is now a PHD holder in Art History.
Patricia did not start as an author/illustrator. Initially, she worked restoring art in a museum until she became a mother to 2 children. She then became a full time mom and concentrated on their education.
When Patricia was 41 years old, she started putting down the stories she told and heard into books and illustrated them. She was always good at art (and it was used as a substitute to reading).
Author Study Ideas
Links:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/patricia-polacco
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/polacco.html
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/polacco/
http://www.alyciazimmerman.com/patricia-polacco-author-study.html
http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_polacco_patricia.html
http://www.patriciapolacco.com/author/bio/bio.html
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2012/03/ukrainian-painted-eggs-and-patricia-polacco-%E2%80%94-perfect-pairing